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Federal health experts said Thursday that drug labeling for Yaz and other widely-used birth control pills should be updated to emphasize recent data suggesting a higher risk of blood clots with the drugs than older contraceptive pills.

The Food and Drug Administration’s panel of experts voted 21-5 Thursday that labeling on the popular drugs made by Bayer is inadequate and needs more information about the potential risk of blood clots in the legs and lungs.

Yaz, its predecessor Yasmin and related prescriptions use a manmade hormone called drospirenone, which mimics the naturally occurring female hormone progesterone. Approved in 2006, Yaz grew into the best-selling birth control pill in the U.S. by 2008, backed by hundreds of millions of dollars in TV and magazine advertising that emphasized its ability to clear up acne and other hormonal side effects. But prescriptions have fallen more than 80 percent in the last two years amid safety concerns.

Panelists spent more than nine hours discussing often conflicting data on the blood clot risk of drospirenone-containing drugs compared with older medications. While the group disagreed on the quality of the evidence, the overwhelming majority said it should be clearly stated in the label, including the potentially fatal nature of blood clots.

“Clearly the wording is inadequate and incomplete,” said Dr. Richard Bockman of New York’s Hospital for Special Surgery. “Adverse events have to be made graphic so physicians and patients are aware of the consequences.”

In an earlier vote, panelists voted 15-11 that the pills remain a beneficial option for preventing pregnancy. The majority ruling amounts to a vote of confidence for keeping the drugs on the market, though well over a third of panelists voted against the drug’s overall benefit, citing numerous alternatives available.

“I can see no real group of patients that this drug benefited over existing alternatives,” said Mark Woods of New York University School of Medicine. “Without any clear benefit, and given the potentially catastrophic risk, I voted no.”

Two large studies conducted by German drugmaker Bayer have shown no difference in blood clots between patients taking the company’s drugs and patients taking older medications.

But since 2009, five large studies have suggested drospirenone-containing pills carry a slightly higher risk of blood clots than older birth control pills, though events in both groups are very rare. Even a slightly higher risk can be critical because blood clots can trigger heart attacks, strokes and blockages in lungs or blood vessels.

The most recent study by the FDA found women taking Yasmin had a 75 percent higher chance of suffering a blood clot than patients taking a combination of older drugs. The absolute risk of a blood clot is still far less than a fraction of a percent.

FDA scientists noted shortcomings with all the recent studies of Yaz and Yasmin, including missing information about patient weight and smoking status, which can increase the risk of blood clots. While not definitive, panelists said the information should be explained clearly in the labeling for physicians and patients no fax pay day loan.

“I think we can do a much better job than labels I have seen,” said Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice, of the Morehouse School of Medicine.

Panelists said future studies must take into account patients’ lifestyle, race and family history to accurately capture blood clot risk.

With the slogan, “beyond birth control,” Bayer’s advertisements pitched Yaz to women in their 20s as drug with “lifestyle” benefits over older contraceptives. One advertisements featured young women singing the Twisted Sister anthem, “We’re Not Gonna Take It,” while popping balloons labeled “moodiness,” “bloating” and “acne.”

Within two years of its marketing approval, Yaz had grown into the best-selling birth control pill in the U.S. with peak sales of $781 million in 2009, according to data from IMS Health. But sales plummeted from one million per month to about 200,000 per month after the company added information about studies that found a heightened risk of blood clots. Additionally, Bayer was forced to run corrective advertisements after the FDA said the company’s marketing campaign overstated Yaz’s effectiveness in treating premenstrual mood disorders, and used distracting music and visuals to downplay the drug’s side effects.

Earlier in the day, panelists heard more than a half-dozen patients or their family members who blame Yaz or Yasmin for sometimes deadly blood clots.

Cindy Rippee spoke about her last conversation with her 20-year-old daughter Elizabeth Rippee, who died Christmas Eve 2008 when a blood clot traveled to her lung. Rippee said her daughter had been taking Yasmin for about two months, after taking another birth control pill, Tri-Sprintec, for a year previously.

“My daughter was a very smart young woman. If Elizabeth had been clearly told that Yasmin had more risk, maybe twice as much risk, as other pills she never would have switched to Yasmin and would be here today,” said Rippee, of Escondido, Calif.

Rippee is among 4,000 to 6,000 plaintiffs suing Bayer in personal injury lawsuits pending throughout the U.S. court system.

Yaz and other drospirenone-containing pills accounted for 16 percent of the hormonal contraceptives used in the U.S. last year, behind Warner Chilcott’s Loestren, Johnson & Johnson’s Ortho Tri-Cyclen and several other oral contraceptives.

The FDA has not set a timetable for any changes in Yaz’s labeling. For now, many doctors say they don’t expect to stop prescribing the drugs anytime soon. They point out that the risk of blood clots with any birth control pill is still far lower than that associated with pregnancy and birth, when surging hormone levels and reduced blood flow dramatically increase the chances of clotting.

Studies suggest that 10 in 10,000 women taking the newer birth control pills will experience a blood clot, compared with 20 in 10,000 women who are pregnant or have just given birth.

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The leaders of Germany and France called Monday for a new European Union treaty to restore confidence in the euro currency and to ensure that the region’s debt crisis never happens again.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said after a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel that they would prefer a treaty agreed by all 27 members of the European Union but would also accept a treaty among just the 17 countries that use the euro.

The new treaty should include automatic sanctions for countries that violate rules meant to keep government deficits in check.

Investors cheered the two leaders’ comments, with the euro and stocks rising and bond yields dropping.

The meeting comes at the start of a crucial week for the eurozone, as it struggles to convince markets that it is able to solve its debt crisis.

Sarkozy said a jointly issued bond by all the countries that use the euro is not the solution to the continent’s debt crisis.

Many analysts have said that only by issuing bonds backed by the whole eurozone will Europe be able to save its shared currency.

Stronger countries, like Germany and France, have resisted those calls, but some thought that as the crisis worsens they might be forced to relent. Sarkozy reiterated Monday, however, that a common bond was “in no way” the solution to the crisis.

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Apple Inc. won a small victory on Friday in its global patent battle with rival Samsung, after Australia’s highest court temporarily extended a ban on sales of Samsung’s Galaxy tablet computers in the country.

Samsung Electronics Co. is desperate to begin selling the Galaxy in Australia in time for Christmas sales, but the High Court’s decision means the device can’t go on the market until at least Dec. 9.

Apple took Samsung to court in Australia after accusing the Suwon, South Korea-based company of copying its iPad and iPhone. In October, a Federal Court judge ordered Samsung to halt sales of the device ahead of a trial. Samsung appealed, and on Wednesday, a full bench of the Federal Court threw out the earlier ruling and said Galaxy sales could resume on Friday.

But Apple immediately appealed that decision to the High Court, which on Friday said the temporary injunction against sales would be extended for another week while it considers Apple’s latest arguments.

“Samsung believes Apple has no basis for its application for leave to appeal and will vigorously oppose this to the High Court,” Samsung said in a statement.

The legal back-and-forth is all part of a larger, international battle over the technology giants’ competing tablets. Cupertino, California-based Apple struck first when it sued Samsung in the United States in April, alleging the product design, user interface and packaging of the Galaxy “slavishly copy” the iPhone and iPad. Samsung hit back with lawsuits accusing Apple of patent infringement of its wireless telecommunications technology.

The companies have now filed lawsuits in 10 countries. Courts in several nations, including Germany and the Netherlands, have issued rulings that favor Apple.

Apple spokeswoman Fiona Martin declined to comment on Friday’s ruling, instead issuing a general statement blasting Samsung.

“It’s no coincidence that Samsung’s latest products look a lot like the iPhone and iPad, from the shape of the hardware to the user interface and even the packaging,” Apple said in the statement. “This kind of blatant copying is wrong and, as we’ve said many times before, we need to protect Apple’s intellectual property when companies steal our ideas.”

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Aubrey Dan is a Tony award-winning producer and president of the Dancap Group of Companies. In our series on the financial habits of notable Canadians Dan told the Toronto Star’s Emily Mathieu about his wise investment in water, his strategic approach to selling popcorn at his first job and how he convinced his dad to let him buy a motorcycle at 13.

How did your family influence your attitude toward money?

My family had a huge influence on my attitude toward money. They taught me I had to work very hard to earn every dollar, while at the same time to donate money as well. The more we make, the more we can afford to give away.

What is the best financial advice you ever received?

My grandfather told me to not waste my time investing in penny stocks as they are very speculative. Instead, I should invest my money into companies that people need, versus want they want. Companies that have a solid foundation where the demand (for their product or service) increases over time, therefore increasing the value.

Describe your first job, what did it teach you?

My first job was at the Exhibition Stadium with the Toronto Blue Jays. I became the No. 1 popcorn salesman because I had limited competition from the other sellers, and I would target customers between 1st and 3rd base, sitting near the home plate, as they were the most expensive seats and presumably had the most disposable income. I would shout out at the top of my lungs a sales message that created the demand for popcorn and encouraged people to buy from me.

What was the first item you purchased with your own money?

I bought a Yamaha 60cc motorcycle that cost me $200 when I was 13 years old. I had to do a real sales job to convince my dad that I should own one. Since I had my own money that I had earned from working, and he rode one when he was young, it was hard for him to disagree.

What has been your savviest investment?

Investing in a small water power generation business in Ontario. There were long-term supply agreements that guaranteed the revenue so all I had to do was focus on managing the operations efficiently and eventually I sold it for a handsome profit.

What is your best money-saving advice?

It’s very important to understand your own risk tolerance when investing in a company, while trying to control your downside protection. Don’t get greedy. Take money off the table once you have reached your targeted ROI expectation, even if there is further upside.

What is your worst spending habit?

I like going to the occasional Toronto Raptors game with my son, sitting in the press box beside the team bench as there is no better seat to see the game. I pay an insane amount for this luxury, but I value the premium location.

What hard financial lessons did you learn throughout your career?

I could write a book on the lessons that I’ve learned, but the one that sticks out the most is knowing when to stop investing in a company and calling it quits if it has stopped making money after a period of time. This is emotionally hard to do as one can look at it as a failure, but in fact it can be a very smart move.

What advice would you give to young people about to enter the business of entertainment?

Make sure that you can afford to lose the money that you invest; the entertainment business is one of the riskiest businesses. It takes more than hard work and good luck to be successful.

How do you prefer to pay, cash, card or debit?

I prefer to pay by credit card as I collect all the points that I use for my FREE travel, but I always pay off the balance at the end of the month, as I hate to be in debt.

Do you bank online?

Yes, I use online banking extensively so I can manage my funds effectively anywhere in the world.

What is your retirement plan?

Retirement is a word that is not in my vocabulary. I don’t ever see myself not working in some capacity. My Dad is 83 years old and he’s still a going concern who has yet to really slow down. Since I come from the same gene pool, I don’t see anything different for my future.

Are money and success the same thing?

Money is a tool that can be used to achieve your goals and dreams, but it’s not the end game. It’s what you do with money that makes you successful. To me the definition of success is how you can help the world by giving back as much money as possible, while building for the next generation.

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Stock indexes fell in afternoon trading Thursday as spiking bond yields in Spain brought new worries Europe’s debt crisis and overshadowed the latest signs of growth in the U.S. economy.

Technology stocks led the market lower after two companies disappointed investors with weaker earnings predictions. NetApp Inc. plunged 12 percent, the most in the S&P 500 index, after the data storage company forecast earnings that were below Wall Street’s estimates.

Applied Materials Inc. also said its earnings for the current quarter would be weaker than analysts’ forecasts. The company’s income fell 3 percent last quarter on lower demand fell for the semiconductor equipment it makes.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 159 points to 11,746 as of 1 p.m. Eastern time. It had wavered between gains and losses earlier in the day. Cisco Systems Inc. had the largest fall of the 30 stocks in the Dow, 2.7 percent. Intel Corp. dropped 2.4 percent.

In Spain, an auction of 10-year government bonds left the country paying interest rates of nearly 7 percent. That’s the highest rate since 1997 and a level that economists see as unsustainable. Greece and Ireland received rescue loans from the European Union after their bond yields jumped above the same level.

Spain has much more debt than either Greece or Ireland, which would make it difficult for other countries to rescue. Like Italy, whose main borrowing rate also spiked above 7 percent in the last week, the country is burdened with high debts and slow growth.

Concerns about Europe’s debt crisis contrasted with better economic reports in the U.S. The number of people seeking unemployment benefits last week fell to the lowest level in 7 months, a sign layoffs are easing.

“The economic data in the U.S. has been improving,” said Michael Sheldon, chief market strategist at RDM Financial in Westport, Conn. “If it weren’t for Europe, I think equity markets would be doing much better right now.”

The Spanish bond auction came a day after Fitch Ratings warned that major U.S. banks could be “greatly affected” if Europe’s debt crisis continues to spread beyond the financially troubled Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Italy and Spain.

Building permits jumped 10.9 percent, much higher than economists expected. That’s another sign that the U.S. may not be headed for another recession.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index lost 21, or 1.8 percent, to 1,214. The Nasdaq composite slid 57, or 2.1 percent, to 2,582.

In corporate news:

_ Consumer review site Angie’s List soared 21 percent on the company’s first day of trading. Angie’s List Inc., which runs reviews of veterinarians, plumbers and other local services, priced its initial public offering of 8.8 million shares at $13 late Wednesday.

_ Sears Holdings Corp. fell 4.6 percent after its third-quarter results missed Wall Street’s expectations. The retailer’s sales were dragged down by declining consumer electronics sales and softer sales at its Kmart stores.

_ J.M. Smucker Co. lost 2.4 percent after reporting that rising costs for ingredients were cutting into profits.

_ Boeing Co. slipped 1 percent after the market turned lower in the afternoon. The company had traded higher after announcing its largest commercial airplane order. Lion Air, a private carrier in Indonesia, ordered a total of 230 airplanes at a list price of $21.7 billion.

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Clayton-based Brown Shoe Co. said today that it will close a distribution center in Sun Prairie, Wis. next year to reduce excess capacity in its network as part of its ongoing portfolio realignment.

The facility will be closed in phases with the process beginning in January and ending in April, the company said.

“This decision was based on the result of changes in our industry and our continued portfolio realignment efforts, which are focused on shifting resources to our strategic consumer platforms,” Mike Kauffman, the company’s senior vice president of global supply chain management, said in a statement.

Brown Shoe chief executive Diane Sullivan launched a portfolio review when she took over the company earlier this year. As part of that process, the company also recently sold the basketball brand AND 1.

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Greece’s new prime minister will present his policy platform in parliament Monday, ahead of a midweek confidence vote in his coalition government that is tasked with implementing crucial reforms and securing the country’s international loan lifeline.

Lucas Papademos, a former central banker picked by broad party consensus last week after the previous Socialist government imploded, is expected to easily win Wednesday’s confidence vote.

His interim coalition administration is backed by Greece’s two biggest parties and a small right-wing nationalist party. It has a mandate to coast the austerity-fatigued country over the next three months, with national elections tentatively scheduled for February.

Tough work lies ahead. Papademos’ government must pass the 2012 austerity budget, approve a new euro130 billion ($177 billion) international bailout cobbled together last month, and see through lagging reforms that will include thousands of public sector layoffs.

Most crucially, it must secure the next euro8 billion ($11 billion) installment of the rescue loans without which the country will go bankrupt before Christmas.

Greece depends on loans from a euro110 billion ($150 billion) rescue package agreed in 2010, when huge borrowing costs blocked the debt-crippled country from international markets. That bailout later proved inadequate, forcing the new bailout agreed on Oct. 26 that will also see the reduction of the country’s privately held debt by some euro100 billion, or 50 percent.

Athens is expected to officially launch talks in the next few days with banks and other private bond holders on the debt writedown.

Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos has said he hopes the next loan installment can be approved by his 16 eurozone colleagues in a Thursday teleconference. Greece’s eurozone partners are first seeking a written commitment from Athens to support the second bailout, signed by Papademos, the leaders of the main Socialist and conservative parties, the central bank governor and finance minister low fee pay day loans.

But conservative leader Antonis Samaras insisted Monday that he would not sign, arguing that he has already pledged to back the deal and his word should suffice.

“Some say that to unblock the (euro8 billion) installment we need to sign a joint statement with all the parties that support this new transitional government,” Samaras told his New Democracy party lawmakers. “I said it before and I say it now: I will not sign such statements.”

Samaras pledged to back the interim government but said elections must be held as initially agreed on Feb. 19, and promised, if elected, to cut taxes.

Greeks have suffered some 20 months of harsh austerity, with repeated pension and salary cuts compounded by a spate of tax increases. Unions have reacted with a wave of general strikes and demonstrations, many of which led to riots. A small left-wing party has called an anti-austerity protest just ahead of Papademos’ speech in parliament, while civil servants will hold work stoppages Tuesday.

However, Greeks appear relieved by the formation of the new government last Friday, after ten days of political wrangling triggered by the resignation of Socialist prime minister George Papandreou amid a party revolt halfway through his four-year term.

Some 73 percent back Papademos’ selection according to a survey in Sunday’s To Vima newspaper, and 78 percent approved the coalition government. But only 26 percent said they expected the three parties to support the government’s work, with 56 percent voicing fears that the parties will focus on campaigning for February’s elections. The Nov. 11 poll of 1,000 people gave a 3 percent margin of error.

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Nebraska rancher Bruce Boettcher was ecstatic when he learned the rumors swirling out of Washington were true: plans to build a 1,700-mile oil pipeline from Canada to Texas were on hold to study how environmentally sensitive areas in his state could be avoided.

He’d fought the project with neighbors whose land also sits atop the Ogallala aquifer, a massive underground water supply in the pipeline’s path _ and at the epicenter of the national debate. Nebraska officials including its Republican governor pushed against the project, as had environmentalists and national groups.

Until Thursday, when the U.S. State Department announced a delay in its federal permitting decision for the TransCanada Corp. pipeline, Boettcher wasn’t sure if the protests and public hearings had made a difference.

“I didn’t think we’d get this far this quick, to tell you the truth,” the 55-year-old, fourth-generation rancher said. “TransCanada is persistent. But when they get persistent, I get persistent.”

The Obama administration said other potential routes for the Keystone XL through Nebraska needed to be studied, creating a delay that likely puts off a final decision until after the 2012 election _ a move that didn’t go unnoticed by supporters and opponents of the project.

The $7 billion pipeline would carry oil from the tar sands in Alberta, Canada, to refineries on the Texas Gulf Coast. TransCanada is seeking to build the 36-inch pipeline through Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.

Russ Girling, TransCanada’s president and CEO, called the pipeline “shovel-ready,” adding that it could create as many 20,000 jobs.

But Thursday’s announcement means the Calgary-based company will have to figure out how to move the pipeline around the Nebraska Sandhills region and the aquifer, which flows under eight states and provides water crucial to huge swaths of U.S. cropland.

An environmental review of the new section is expected to be completed in early 2013. The State Department has authority over the project because it crosses a U.S. border.

President Barack Obama said the pipeline could affect the health and safety of the American people as well as the environment.

“We should take the time to ensure that all questions are properly addressed and all the potential impacts are properly understood,” Obama said in a statement.

The heavily contested project has become a political trap for Obama, who risks angering environmental supporters _ and losing re-election contributions from some liberal donors _ if he approves it, and criticism from labor and business groups for thwarting job creation if he rejects it.

The Keystone XL pipeline would carry as much as 700,000 barrels of oil a day, doubling the capacity of an existing pipeline operated by TransCanada in the upper Midwest. Supporters say the pipeline could significantly reduce U.S. dependence on Middle Eastern oil while providing thousands of jobs.

Among its supporters are Oklahoma’s governor, congressional delegation and even the oil and gas industry. They say the Keystone XL would provide additional takeaway pipeline from large oil storage facilities in Cushing, a city in northwest Oklahoma dubbed the “Pipeline Crossroads of the World.”

“The influx of crude oil from Canada and increased production in the northern United States has overwhelmed outbound pipeline capacity at Cushing, forcing more oil into storage,” said Cody Bannister, a spokesman for the Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association.

Bannister said the excess oil is resulting in the estimated 60 million barrels of oil produced each year in Oklahoma selling for an average of $15 less per barrel than crude oil from other parts of the globe.

“In one year, the state would lose $63 million in gross production taxes,” Bannister said, adding the overall economic impact would be “far greater.”

But the project has become a focal point for environmental groups, which say the pipeline would bring “dirty oil” that requires huge amounts of energy to extract. They also worry that the pipeline could cause an ecological disaster in case of a spill.

Thousands of protesters gathered across from the White House on Sunday to oppose the pipeline, and celebrities including “Seinfeld” actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus have made videos against the pipeline.

Environmental activist Bill McKibben, who led protests against the pipeline and was arrested in a demonstration earlier this year, said on Twitter that the protests had an effect on the Obama administration.

“A done deal has come spectacularly undone!” he wrote.

But fellow environmentalist Matthew Tejada, executive director of the Houston Air Alliance, was more cautious.

“We just got a stay of execution,” Tejada said. “I don’t know that we’ve actually fundamentally changed the mind of anyone in the Obama administration.”

Tejada said the pipeline wouldn’t lead the U.S. toward a sustainable energy policy, but he doesn’t think that played into the State Department’s decision.

“This is more of a political calculation to get Keystone off the books of this next election cycle,” he said.

TransCanada said in a statement it was disappointed in the delay but confident that the project ultimately would be approved. The company previously said a delay could cost millions of dollars and keep thousands of people from getting jobs.

“If Keystone XL dies, Americans will still wake up the next morning and continue to import 10 million barrels of oil from repressive nations, without the benefit of thousands of jobs and long-term energy security,” said Girling, the company’s president and CEO.

The American Petroleum Institute, the oil industry’s chief lobbying group, said the decision put election-year politics above job creation. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, used similar language, saying Obama had sacrificed thousands of jobs “solely to appease his liberal base. It’s a failure of leadership.”

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, through a spokesman, said he was disappointed. He also noted the lost job opportunities and “billions in economic growth on both sides of the border,” but remained hopeful the project would eventually be approved.

Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman said the State Department decision was due largely to pressure from Nebraskans. Heineman called a special session of the Nebraska Legislature to address pipeline concerns, including a possible rerouting of the pipeline around the Sandhills, a region that includes a high concentration of wetlands and the Ogallala aquifer.

Heineman, a Republican, called the State Department decision “an exceptional moment for Nebraskans” and a sign their voices have been heard.

The decision to reroute the project comes as the State Department’s inspector general has begun a review of the administration’s handling of the pipeline request. That examination follows complaints from Democratic lawmakers about possible conflicts of interest in the review process.

The inspector generator will look at whether the State Department and others involved in the project followed federal regulations.

“I strongly believe that the more the American people learn about this project, the more they will understand that it would be disastrous for our environment and for our economy,” said Sen. Bernard Sanders, I-Vt., who requested the review.

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The American economy added 80,000 jobs in October, and job growth in the two previous months was much stronger than first thought, an encouraging sign as the nation searches for a way out of the jobs crisis.

The unemployment rate dropped to 9 percent from 9.1 percent, the first time it has fallen since July and the lowest rate since April, the government said Friday.

“Those are pretty good signs,” said Michael Hanson, senior economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. “We’re hanging in there.”

Economists surveyed by FactSet, a provider of financial data, had expected a gain of 100,000 jobs. It takes a gain of about 125,000 jobs a month to keep up with population growth, more to bring down the unemployment rate.

The private sector added 104,000 jobs for the month.

The overall jobs figure was the smallest in four months. Still, there were smaller, more encouraging signs in the government’s monthly snapshot of unemployment, one of the most closely watched economic reports.

The Labor Department said the economy added 102,000 more jobs in August and September than first thought. And the ranks of the long-term unemployed, people out of a job for at least six months, fell sharply to 5.9 million.

Those signs further ease fears of a new recession, which had loomed over the economy this past summer. Europe is wrestling with a debt crisis, however, and even if it dodges catastrophe, a recession there would be a drag on the U.S. economy.

The job market turned consistently negative in February 2008. The nation lost jobs for 25 months in a row _ almost 8.8 million of them in all. Since then, the economy has only recovered 2.3 million jobs.

The unemployment rate has hovered around 9 percent for more than two years, and the Federal Reserve said this week that it will is not expected to fall significantly through the end of next year.

That means President Barack Obama will almost certainly go before voters next November seeking a second term with the highest unemployment of any sitting president since World War II.

Obama, appearing at the G-20 economic summit in Cannes, France, said the U.S. economy is growing “way too slow.” He repeated his call for Republicans in Congress to pass his $447 billion jobs bill, a mix of tax cuts and spending on roads and rail lines.

“There’s no excuse for inaction,” the president said.

Republicans in the Senate on Thursday defeated the infrastructure portion of Obama’s proposal. GOP lawmakers opposed the bill’s tax surcharge on the wealthy and the additional spending.

Republicans laid blame on Obama and Democrats in Congress.

“At virtually every step of the way, President Obama and Democrats have increased uncertainty,” said Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas. “This has discouraged businesses from making new investments.”

Hiring last month was broad. Professional and business services, which includes the accounting, engineering, and temporary help industries, added 32,000 jobs. Hotels, restaurants, and entertainment companies added 22,000. Health care added 12,000.

The construction sector cut 20,000 jobs for the month, the most since January. That industry is examined closely because a pickup in the housing market could add force to the economic recovery.

Government, meanwhile, cut 24,000 jobs. That’s unusual for an economic recovery, when state, local and federal governments typically hire workers.

The number of discouraged workers _ those who have given up looking for work and are no longer counted as unemployed, fell. And fewer people with part-time jobs were looking for full-time work.

“Overall, while this report is not good enough, several key numbers are now moving in the right direction,” Ian Shepherdson, an economist at High Frequency told clients. “The odds of significantly better employment reports over the next few months seem to be improving.”

The economy grew at an annual rate of 2.5 percent in July, August and September, its best performance in a year. In the first half of this year, the economy expanded at the slowest pace since the Great Recession ended in June 2009.

The stronger economy over the summer was powered by consumer spending, which grew three times as fast as it had this spring. Americans spent more even in the face of fears of a new recession and wild gyrations in the stock market.

Still, companies appear to be waiting for customer demand to pick up even more before they hire again in great numbers. They learned during and after the recession to live with fewer employees.

Worker productivity rose from July through September by the most in a year and a half. More productivity is usually good because companies pay workers more without raising prices. But workers generally are not getting raises this time.

The Federal Reserve this week lowered its forecast from economic growth to 1.7 percent for this year, down from a forecast of 2.7 percent issued over the summer. It also says unemployment will not come down substantially through the end of 2012.

The economy has absorbed a series of body blows this year.

In the spring, the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan disrupted supplies of cars and other products. The price of gas rose to a national average of almost $4 a gallon.

Then this summer, Washington was seized by gridlock over whether to raise the borrowing limit for the federal government and how best to tackle the nation’s long-term debt problem.

More recently, economists have fretted over a debt crisis in Europe. That continent buys 20 percent of American exports, so a slowdown there would take a bite out of the U.S. economy, too.

The Greek prime minister this week called for a surprise popular vote on a European plan to bail out the debt-addled Greek economy. He later backed down, but even if Greece is stabilized, other European economies are weighed down by debt.

President Barack Obama’s health care law created a $5 billion fund to shore up coverage for early retirees, and some of that money is flowing to places you might not expect.

Two Texas public employee programs are among the top 25 recipients of the federal subsidy despite Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s opposition to the law Republicans derisively call “Obamacare.”

And records show the Huntsman family business, where GOP presidential candidate Jon Huntsman sharpened his executive skills, received about $1 million.

It highlights the gap between dire Republican rhetoric about the health care overhaul and the pragmatic impulse to cash in on a new government benefit.

Employer-sponsored health insurance for retirees has been shriveling for years, ever since companies were required to report the estimated liability to investors. Democrats who wrote the new law wanted to provide an incentive for employers to keep offering coverage. Only about 6 percent of private companies currently offer such a benefit for early retirees, according to the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute.

But that still works out to more than 400,000 companies. Add state and local government agencies, as well as union plans, and the number swells. Indeed, the Obama administration’s subsidy program got so many applications it stopped accepting new ones after approving more than 6,000. The program pays 80 percent of the claims amount for early retirees ages 55 to 64 whose care costs between $15,000 and $90,000.

The top beneficiary: the United Auto Workers retiree medical plan, which has collected more than $220 million.

“Some people have described this program as `Cash for Clunkers,’ in the sense that if you want it, you have to get in line first,” said Paul Fronstin, an economist with the research group. “There was a lot of advice given to be first in line.” The original Cash for Clunkers was an Obama administration program that paid people to trade in gas guzzlers for more fuel-efficient transportation. It created a marketing sensation before running out of cash.

Texas, it seems, heeded the advice. So did Huntsman International.

The Teacher Retirement System of Texas, a statewide system for public education employees, received more than $70 million as of Sept. 22, according to the federal Health and Human Services Department. The Employees Retirement System of Texas, which covers state employees, received about $30 million.

Huntsman International, the main operating subsidiary of the family-founded chemical conglomerate, is also collecting subsidies.

As candidates, both Perry and Huntsman have sworn to repeal Obama’s signature health care law, which gradually extends coverage to most of the uninsured and makes numerous other changes, including a ban on insurers denying coverage to people in poor health and an unpopular requirement that most Americans carry coverage quick cash.

Spokesmen for the Perry and Huntsman campaigns said they see no contradictions.

Texas taxpayers also pay federal taxes, said Perry spokesman Ray Sullivan. “State taxpayers have a right to get those federal funds returned to them, in this care in the form of disbursement to the teachers and state employee retirement systems,” said Sullivan. “No Texas law or policy needed to be changed in order for these agencies to be eligible to receive the funds.”

Huntsman spokesman Tim Miller said his candidate, Obama’s first ambassador to China and a former governor of Utah, is opposed to all subsidies.

Jon Huntsman has not been involved in the family business since 2005, said company spokesman Gary Chapman. Huntsman resigned from the company to pursue his political career.

Asked why Huntsman International applied for the early retiree subsidy, Chapman responded: “We’re a commercial organization. We are looking to maximize our shareholders’ value. If there was a legitimate opportunity for us to get help in this respect, we would go for it.”

Republicans have tried to paint the early retiree subsidy program as a political reward to unions, among the staunchest Democratic loyalists. According to calculations by the office of Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., the United Auto Workers Retiree Medical Benefits Trust has made out the best.

A UAW spokeswoman did not respond to requests for comment. In its 2007 contracts with Chrysler, GM and Ford, the union agreed to form the trust to pay health care costs for the companies’ retirees, including early retirees too young to qualify for Medicare. The trust started paying bills in January 2010, before Congress passed the health care law.

The calculations by Enzi’s staff also list AT&T, Verizon, General Electric, General Motors, Qwest, Caterpillar and other private companies in the top 25, not to mention the two Texas state programs. AT&T received $157 million.

Several media companies are also benefiting. The Associated Press, a nonprofit news-gathering service owned by the nation’s newspapers, has received $191,888.

Back in Texas, public and private employer retiree plans have collected more than $326 million from the subsidy. They range from American Airlines to Texas A&M University _ Perry’s alma mater.

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